From the River to the Sea

The Untold Story of the Railroad War that Made the West

By: John Sedgwick

Narrated by: John Bedford Lloyd

“Riveting...A great read, full of colorful characters and outrageous confrontations back when the west was still wild.” (George R.R. Martin)

A propulsive and panoramic history of one of the most dramatic stories never told — the greatest railroad war of all time, fought by the daring leaders of the Santa Fe and the Rio Grande to seize, control, and create the American West.

It is difficult to imagine now, but for all its gorgeous scenery, the American West might have been barren tundra as far as most Americans knew well into the 19th century. While the West was advertised as a paradise on earth to citizens in the East and Midwest, many believed the journey too hazardous to be worthwhile — until 1869, when the first transcontinental railroad changed the face of transportation.

Railroad companies soon became the rulers of western expansion, choosing routes, creating brand-new railroad towns, and building up remote settlements like Santa Fe, Albuquerque, San Diego, and El Paso into proper cities. But thinning federal grants left the routes incomplete, an opportunity that two brash new railroad men, armed with private investments and determination to build an empire across the Southwest clear to the Pacific, soon seized, leading to the greatest railroad war in American history.

In From the River to the Sea, best-selling author John Sedgwick recounts, in vivid and thrilling detail, the decade-long fight between General William J. Palmer, the Civil War hero leading the “little family” of his Rio Grande, and William Barstow Strong, the hard-nosed manager of the corporate-minded Santa Fe. What begins as an accidental rivalry when the two lines cross in Colorado soon evolves into an all-out battle as each man tries to outdo the other — claiming exclusive routes through mountains, narrow passes, and the richest silver mines in the world; enlisting private armies to protect their land and lawyers to find loopholes; dispatching spies to gain information; and even using the power of the press and incurring the wrath of the God-like Robber Baron Jay Gould — to emerge victorious. By the end of the century, one man will fade into anonymity and disgrace. The other will achieve unparalleled success — and in the process, transform a sleepy backwater of thirty thousand called “Los Angeles” into a booming metropolis that will forever change the United States.

Filled with colorful characters and high drama, told at the speed of a locomotive, From the River to the Sea is an unforgettable piece of American history “that seems to demand a big-screen treatment” (The New Yorker).

©2021 John Sedgewick. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Excellent

A history of two men and so much more! Part Colorado history, Los Angeles history, and overall history of the west... Interesting, inspiring and well narratorated

Questionable

The strength of this book is the occasional switch into some general history about the movement of railroads west. Those are great.
But the author makes it clear he is anti-capitalistic. Thus much of the account might be biased. One time he says Adam Smith's notion of self-interest is the same thing as greed. I bet when the author sells a used car he tries to get the top price. That is self-interest, not greed. When he buys a car he tries to get the lowest price. That is self-interest not greed.
One further negative. The book often descends into horrible minutia.